McKissick Museum is located at the heart of the historic Horseshoe on the Columbia campus of the University of South Carolina. It was established in 1976 by the University Board of Trustees to bring together under one roof the many object collections housed in various departments and colleges throughout campus. These collections date back to 1801 and provide insight into the long and illustrious history of the University. McKissick Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums, operating within their guidelines for the proper care and safekeeping of these historical artifacts.
The building itself is a Works Progress Administration structure erected in 1939 as the University's library. It stands on the site of the first president's house built on the Horseshoe and removed to make room for the library building in 1937. A plaque commemorating the house lies in front of McKissick Museum at the edge of the grass bordering the plaza in front of the building.
The Museum has an advisory board consisting of University and community individuals dedicated to the welfare and promotion of McKissick's endeavors. In 1980 McKissick Museum created a membership program to offer special advantages to its loyal, returning visitors. A nationally recognized graduate program, the Museum Management Certificate Program, is taught on-site and offered through the COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES' Public History Program. On average about twenty-five graduate students, in various stages of their academic progress, are enrolled in the certificate program.
Currently the Museum has two main galleries located on the second floor of the building, a new gallery expected to be open the fall of 2004 on the third floor, and the small gallery of Baruch Silver located within the space of the University's Visitor Center on the first floor.
For more information about the museum and the opportunities available to a wide variety of individuals through its various public offerings, exhibitions, collections, and research, click on the main links located at the upper left side panel.
